James Wood

“ The population of the Ottoman Empire is of a most heterogeneous character, embracing Turks, Greeks, Slavs, Albanians, Armenians, Syrians, Arabs, Tartars, &c. The government is a pure despotism, and the Sultan is regarded as the Caliph or head of Islam; military service is compulsory, and the army on a war footing numbers not less than 750,000, but the navy is small; since 1847 there has been considerable improvement in education; the finances have long been mismanaged, and an annual deficit of two millions sterling is now a usual feature of the national budget ”

“ Canova encouraged him, and a fine statue of Jason established his reputation; his life henceforth was one of ever-increasing fame and prosperity. Denmark received him with highest honour in 1819, but the milder Italian climate better suited his health, and he returned to Rome, where he executed all his great works; these deal chiefly with subjects chosen from the Greek mythology, in which he reproduces with marvellous success the classic spirit and conception ”

“ Theodicy, name given to an attempt to vindicate the order of the universe in consistency with the presence of evil, and specially to that of Leibnitz, in which he demonstrates that this is the best of all possible worlds. ”

“ On the Catholic side were Austria, various German Catholic princes, and Spain, to whom were opposed successively Bohemia, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, and France; originated in Bohemia, where the Protestants were goaded to revolt against the intolerance of the empire, Moravians and Hungarians came to their assistance, but the imperial forces were too powerful and the rising was suppressed, only to be renewed in 1624, when Denmark espoused the Protestant cause, but struggled vainly against Catholic armies under Wallenstein and Tilly. ”

“ European Turkey (4,786) , which during the last 200 years has been gradually losing territory, now comprises a narrow strip of land between the Adriatic (W.) and the Black Sea (E.) , about twice the size of England; is traversed by the Dinaric Alps and Pindus Mountains, which strike southwards into Greece, while offshoots from the Balkans (q. v.) diversify the E.; climate is very variable, and is marked by high winds and extremes of cold and heat; the soil is remarkably fertile and well adapted for the cultivation of cereals, but agricultural enterprise is hampered by excessive taxation ”

“ Tegner, Esaias, a popular Swedish poet, born at Kyrkerud, the son of a country parson; graduated with distinction at Lund University in 1802, and shortly afterwards became lecturer in Philosophy; in 1812, already a noted poet, he was called to the chair of Greek, and in later years was the devoted bishop of Vexiö; his poems, of which “Frithiof's Saga” is reckoned the finest, have the clearness and finish of classic models, but are charged with the fire and vigour of modern romanticism (1782-1846) . ”

“ Tibet (6,000) , a country of Central Asia, and dependency of China since 1720, called by the natives themselves Bod or Bodyul, comprises a wide expanse of tableland, “three times the size of France, almost as cold as Siberia, most of it higher than Mount Blanc, and all of it, except a few valleys, destitute of population”; enclosed by the lofty ranges of the Himalaya and Kuen-lun Mountains, it has been left practically unexplored; possesses great mineral wealth, and a large foreign trade is carried on in woollen cloth (chief article of manufacture) ”

“ From the 17th century onwards the once wide empire of the Turks has been gradually dwindling away. The Turks are essentially a warlike race, and commerce and art have not flourished with them. Their literature is generally lacking in virility, and is mostly imitative and devoid of national character.
Turner, Charles Tennyson, an elder brother of Alfred Tennyson; a man of fine nature and delicate susceptibility as a poet, whose friendship and “heart union” with his greater brother is revealed in “Poems by Two Brothers” (1808-1879) . ”

“ Transcaucasia, an extensive tract of Russian territory stretching E. and W. between the Caucasus (N.) and Turkey in Asia and Persia (S.) . See Caucasia.
Transcendentalism, name now principally employed to denote the great doctrine of Kant and his school, that there are principles of a priori derivation, that is, antecedent to experience, that are regulative and constitutive of not only our thoughts but our very perceptions, and the operation of which is antecedent to and sovereign over all our mental processes; which principles are denominated the categories of thought ”

“ Titus, Flavius Vespasianus, Roman emperor, born at Rome, the son of Vespasian, served in Germany and Britain, and under his father in Judæa; on his father's elevation to the throne persecuted the Jews, laid siege to Jerusalem, and took the city in A.D. 70; on his accession to the throne he addressed himself to works of public beneficence, and became the idol of the citizens; his death was sudden, and his reign lasted only three years; during that short period he won for himself the title of the “Delight of Mankind” (40-81) . ”

“ Tours (60) , a historic old town of France, on the Loire, 145 m. SW. of Paris; presents a spacious and handsome appearance, and contains a noble Gothic cathedral, archbishop's palace, Palais de Justice, besides ancient châteaux and interesting ruins; is a centre of silk and woollen manufactures, and does a large printing trade; suffered greatly by the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes and during the Franco-German War; became the seat of government after the investment of Paris and until its capitulation to the Germans. ”

“ In 1877 the Republic, then in a disorganised and impoverished condition, and threatened with extinction by the natives, came under the care of the British, by whom the natives were reduced and the finances restored. In 1880 a rising of the Boers to regain complete independence resulted in the Conventions of 1881 and 1884, by which the independence of the Republic was recognised, but subject to the right of Britain to control the foreign relations. ”

“ Austin is the capital and Galveston the principal port.
Texel (7) , an island of North Holland, situated at the entrance to the Zuider Zee and separated from the mainland by a narrow strait called the Marsdiep, the scene of several memorable naval engagements between the Dutch and English; staple industries are sheep and dairy farming.
Tezcuco (15) , a city of Mexico which, under the name Acolhuacan, was once a centre of Aztec culture, of which there are interesting remains still extant; is situated on a salt lake bearing the same name, 25 m. NE. of Mexico City. ”

“ A constitution was drawn up by Bernard of Clairvaux (1128) , and later three ranks were recognised—the knights, who alone wore the mantle of white linen and red cross, men-at-arms, and lower retainers, while a grand-master, seneschal, and other officers were created. During the first 150 years of their existence the Templars increased enormously in power; under papal authority they enjoyed many privileges, such as exemption from taxes, tithes, and interdict. After the capture of Jerusalem by the infidels Cyprus became in 1291 their head-quarters, and subsequently France. ”

“ Thackeray, William Makepeace, novelist, born in Calcutta, educated at the Charterhouse and at Trinity College, Cambridge; after leaving college, which he did without taking a degree, travelled on the Continent, making long stays at Rome and Paris, and “the dear little Saxon town (Weimar) where Goethe lived”; his ambition was to be an artist, but failing in that and pecuniary resources, he turned to literature ”

“ Thistle, Order of the, an order of Scottish knighthood, sometimes called the Order of St. Andrew, instituted in 1687 by James VII. of Scotland (James II. of England) ; fell into abeyance during the reign of William and Mary, but was revived by Queen Anne in 1703; includes the sovereign, 16 knights, and various officials. The principal article in the insignia is a gold collar composed of thistles intertwined with sprigs of rue. ”

“ Texas (2,236, including 493 coloured) , the largest of the United States of America, in the extreme SW., fronts the Gulf of Mexico for 400 m. between Mexico (W.) and Louisiana (E.) ; has an area more than twice that of the British Isles, exhibiting a great variety of soil from rich alluvial valleys and pastoral prairies to arid deserts of sand in the S. Climate in the S. is semi-tropical, in the N. colder and drier. The useful metals are found in abundance, but agriculture and stock-raising are the chief occupations, Texas being the leading cattle-raising and cotton State in the Union ”

“ The radical idea of the system appears to be reincarnation, and the return of the spirit to itself by a succession of incarnations, each one of which raises it to a higher level until, by seven stages it would seem, the process is complete, matter has become spirit, and spirit matter, God has become man, and man God, agreeably somewhat to the doctrine of Amiel, that “the complete spiritualisation of the animal element in us is the task of our race,” though with them it seems rather to mean its extinction. ”

“ Tractarianism, the tenets of the High Church party in the English Church advocated in “Tracts for the Times,” published at Oxford between 1833 and 1841, the chief doctrine of which was that the Church, through its sacraments in the hands of a regularly-ordained clergy, is the only divinely-appointed channel of the grace of Christ. ”

“ Turner, Joseph Mallord William, great English landscape painter, born probably in London, the son of a hairdresser; had little education, and grew up illiterate, as he remained all his days; took to art from his earliest boyhood; soon became acquainted with the artist class, and came under the notice of Sir Joshua Reynolds; began to exhibit at 15; was elected Associate of the Royal Academy at 24, and made an Academician at 28; he took interest in nothing but art, and led the life of a recluse ”

“ Tieck, Ludwig, German poet, born in Berlin; was one of the founders of the Romantic school in Germany, was a friend of the Schlegels and Novalis; wrote novels and popular tales and dramas; his tales, in particular, are described by Carlyle as “teeming with wondrous shapes full of meaning; true modern denizens of old fairyland ... shows a gay southern fancy living in union with a northern heart;... in the province of popular traditions reigns without a rival” (1773-1853) . ”

“ Thomson, Sir William, Lord Kelvin, great physicist, born at Belfast; studied at St. Peter's College, Cambridge; was senior wrangler in 1845, and elected professor of Natural Philosophy in Glasgow in 1846; it is in the departments of heat and electricity he has accomplished his greatest achievements, and his best-known work is the invention of the siphon-recorder for the Atlantic cable, on the completion of which, in 1866, he was knighted, to be afterwards raised to the peerage in 1892 ”

“ Eastern Turkestan (600) , formerly called Chinese Tartary; unproductive in many parts, and but sparsely populated; produces some gold, and a considerable quantity of silk, besides linens and cottons.
Turkey or the Ottoman Empire, a great Mohammedan State embracing wide areas in Eastern Europe and Western Asia, besides the province of Tripoli in North Africa, and the tributary States Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (under Austria) , Cyprus (under Britain) , Samos and Egypt (practically controlled by Britain) . ”

“ Tarquinius, name of an illustrious Roman family of Etruscan origin, two of whose members, according to legend, reigned as king in Rome: Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, fifth king of Rome; the friend and successor of Ancus Martius; said to have reigned from 616 to 578 B.C., and to have greatly extended the power and fame of Rome; was murdered by the sons of Ancus Martius. Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, seventh and last king of Rome (534-510) , usurped the throne after murdering his father-in-law, King Servius Tullius ”

“ Tourville, Anne Hilarion de Cotentin, Count de, a French naval hero, born at Tourville, La Manche; entered the navy in 1660, established his reputation in the war with the Turks and Algerines, and in 1677 won a victory over the Dutch and Spanish fleets; supported James II. in 1690, and in the same year, as commander of the French Channel fleet, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Dutch and English; but off Cape La Hogue in 1692, after a five days' engagement, had his fleet all but annihilated, a memorable victory which freed England from the danger of invasion by Louis XIV. ”

“ Tenterden, a market-town in Kent, once a Cinque Port; the steeple of the church of which is reported to have been the cause of the Goodwin Sands, the stones intended for the dyke which kept the sea off having been used instead to repair the church.
Tenterden, Lord, English judge, born at Canterbury; wrote a “Treatise on the Law relative to Merchant Ships and Seamen”; was raised to the peerage; an obstinate enemy of Reform (1762-1832) . ”

“ Tyrone (171) , a central county of Ulster, Ireland; is hilly, picturesque, and fertile in the lower districts; a considerable portion is taken up by barren mountain slopes and bogland, and agriculture is backward; coal and marble are wrought; Omagh is the capital, and Strabane and Dungannon are prosperous towns.
Tyrone, Hugh O'Neil, Earl of, a notable Irish rebel; assumed the title of “The O'Neil,” and offered open rebellion to Queen Elizabeth's authority, but, despite assistance from Spain, was subdued by Essex and Mountjoy ”

“ Totemism, division of a race into tribes, each of which has its own Totem, or animal, as the symbol of it and the name, and as such treated with superstitious veneration, as involving religious obligation. ”

“ Tarshish, a place frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, now generally identified with Tartessus, a Phoenician settlement in the SW. of Spain, near the mouth of the Guadalquivir, which became co-extensive with the district subsequently known as Andalusia; also conjectured to have been Tarsus, and also Yemen.
Tarsus (8) , a city of great antiquity and interest, the ancient capital of Cilicia, now in the province of Adana, in Turkey in Asia, on the Cydnus, 12 m. above its entrance into the Mediterranean; legend ascribes its foundation to Sennacherib in 690 B.C. ”

“ Thales, philosopher of Greece, and one of her seven sages; was a philosopher of the physical school, and the father of philosophy in general, as the first to seek and find within Nature an explanation of Nature ”